The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will explore standardising a single IVF cycle package offered by clinics to self-funding patients, in a bid to improve price transparency.
It announced its plans alongside the publication of its report on consumer law compliance in the fertility sector, which highlighted the need for more transparent pricing for single IVF cycle packages and advertising accurate success rates. In an open letter to fertility clinics, published in conjunction with the Advertising Standards Authority, the CMA raised concerns about baseless 'superiority claims', unevidenced promotion of add-ons, and published success rates that were based on old or out-of-date data that made it hard for patients to meaningfully compare clinics.
'Buying fertility treatment can be stressful and is very expensive, with each cycle costing several thousand pounds. It's crucial that people have all the information they need upfront when they are comparing options so they can make decisions that are right for them, so it's encouraging to see positive changes from clinics as a result of our work,' said Dr Louise Strong, director of consumer protection at CMA. 'But clinics cannot be complacent. All clinics must get up to speed now to ensure they are on the right side of the law or risk action from the CMA.'
Concerns raised in early 2020 about consumer law compliance in the fertility sector (see BioNews 1035) had led to the the CMA issuing guidance to fertility clinics about how they could market their services compliantly in June last year (see BioNews 1099). The review of fertility clinics in the UK was launched in December 2021 as a follow-up to this action, to measure the impact of the guidance. To conduct the review the CMA collected publicly available information from fertility clinics on pricing, success rates and treatment add-ons for IVF and egg freezing treatment packages.
The resulting Consumer law compliance review of fertility clinics: Findings report notes that it is not actually possible to determine what the average cost of an IVF cycle is in the UK, as clinics do not collect this information. Although the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has estimated the average cost of a single cycle to be around £5000, the CMA said it was aware of single cycles of IVF that would cost in excess of £20,000 when all initial investigations, medication and treatment add-ons, were included. It reported the majority, 65 percent, of IVF patients self-fund their treatment in the UK and that 'the fertility sector is now a commercialised market'.
Later this autumn, the CMA has pledged to explore the feasibility of devising a standard single IVF cycle package that is consistent between clinics in order to help fertility patients compare prices, alongside the HFEA and clinics.
Sources and References
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Fertility clinics' compliance with consumer law: findings published
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Consumer law compliance review of fertility clinics: Findings report
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Open letter from the Advertising Standards Authority and Competition and Markets Authority
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Fertility treatment: A guide for Clinics
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Self-funded IVF: consumer law guidance
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